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The back door of the Beanstalk Bakery jingled as Ginger rushed in, her pink hair dusted with snowflakes from her walk through Book-End. She shook off the cold as she took off her scarf and coat, hanging them by the back door before turning on the tap to wash her hands.
The warm water splashed over her hands, and Ginger let out a long sigh, hoping to wash away the tension from her day. Working at the Beanstalk was one of the few places she could find solace. Ginger had worked there since the previous November. It had taken some convincing to be allowed to work there. There was a certain stigma that came with being a future villain. And when your future villainy includes luring children in with your treats so you can eat them, a restaurant is going to think twice about hiring you. Even so, despite being convincing enough to get hired, Ginger had to stay in the back kitchen and not let it be known that she worked at the Beanstalk. She could only work in the Fall and Winter, since during the other seasons, the Beanstalk Bakery had all outdoor seating.
Ginger stayed under the water a beat longer than necessary, letting the warm water and the heat of the dragon-powered oven heat her up. She couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of failure from earlier that day. She was supposed to act out her destiny with Helga and Gus, for her midterm but she hasn’t been able to go through with it.
Turning off the tap with a silent sigh, she put on her apron and went to get started on bread. The kitchen was quiet, the only sound being the faint crackle from the ovens. The kneading of the dough was relaxing for Ginger.
The Beanstalk was unique in the way it catered to both humans and giants. On one side of the restaurant, the tables were big enough to accommodate giants. All the food was made in the same kitchen, but a big-ify potion was used to enlarge the food for the giants.
Right now, however, the giant side was empty since the actual beanstalk outside of the restaurant had been cut down for the winter. During the summer, the Beanstalk functioned more as a bakery and a tourist location. During the winter, it was all indoors, served meals, and was a lot less popular.
She shaped the dough into a perfect round, the texture smooth and elastic beneath her fingertips. Once finished, she put the dough into the oven and went to work on more orders and restocking the treats.
An hour passed as the kitchen filled with the aroma of good food. As Ginger finished each order, Peter Dutch, her freshman coworker, went to serve them. Nights when it was just the two of them working were usually quite calm.
Moving around the kitchen, Ginger got a nagging feeling. Two dishes of lasagna had been left for a while. Ginger walked over, grabbing the plates to go see what Peter was up to and to figure out why he hadn’t grabbed the plates.
Walking into the entrance, Ginger could see right away what the issue was. Somehow, Peter had unplugged the beverage levee, and there was coffee all over the floor.
Ginger raised a pink eyebrow quizzically. Peter just gave a sigh. “These dishes have been neglected for like ten minutes.” She informed him.
“Yeah— I,” Peter sighed again, now covered in caffeine. “It’s for the table in the private room. Probably better if you serve it rather than me. It’s for a villain girl, so you should be fine.” At that, both of Ginger’s eyebrows shot up in shock. Ginger rarely left the kitchen, nonetheless *serving* costumers. Unsure Ginger went to go serve the plates planning on getting in and out so to not be recognized.
Before entering the side room, she heard laughter. Ginger paused for a second, catching the tail end of a remark. Making her way through the archway, Ginger was met by the affectionate couple of Lizzie and Daring.
“Oh, off with you.” Lizzie smiled, twirling her black hair with her finger while Daring laughed. Ginger placed down their plates. Lizzie remained unaffected. Ginger was unsure whether Lizzie simply forgot who she was or if she didn’t care about Ginger’s destiny.
“Thank you, Ginger,” Lizzie said politely. Wonderlandians don’t centralize Ever Afterian fairytales as much meaning Lizzie wasn’t concerned by Ginger’s destiny.
“And—” Daring started, getting stopped by his own laughter as he tried to heave out, “Can we get two Daring Doughnuts?”
The Daring Doughnuts were the current special. Cream-filled doughnuts that whiten your teeth. Ginger glanced amusedly between the two of them. Daring’s blue eyes had tears coming out from laughter. Lizzie looked agitated and indignant, but Ginger noticed a smile curling around her crimson lips.
“Do not get those doughnuts,” snickered Lizzie, faux pleadingly to Ginger.
Awkwardly, Ginger replied, “Umm, enjoy your meal?” Unsure of exactly how to navigate this situation, since she had never been trained as a server so she just get the interaction short.
Daring and Lizzie were not a couple Ginger had hexpected. Although unhexpected, Ginger thought they worked really well together. Daring had always seemed so needlessly egotistical, but seeing the way he easily joked about his vanity with Lizzie was just sweetness.
Back in the kitchen, Ginger had the idea to make a custom tart for Lizzie. She remembered something about a Knave stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts, so she thought it would be cute.
Ginger got to work quickly, carefully spooning raspberry filling into the heart-shaped tarts. As she worked, Ginger couldn’t help but think about Lizzie. They had shared a general villainy together, although no one in that class was quite villainous, besides Faybelle. She had never seen Lizzie quite so lighthearted and carefree. She wondered if Lizzie, like her, wasn’t interested in the path set on evil.
It had always been clear to Ginger that she wasn’t meant for villainy. The idea of luring children in and eating them felt so wrong to her. All she wanted to do was bake and cook. To open her own bakery one day.
Ginger was so focused on the tarts that she didn’t hear a sound. Lithe fingers covered her eyes. “Guess who?” The cheerful voice of Raven rang.
“Raven,” Ginger laughed, pushing her hands off her eyes, “What are you doing?”
Grabbing one of Ginger’s tarts, Raven asked, “Can one not visit her girlfriend?”
“Hey!” Exclaimed Ginger, turning to face Raven, who had already eaten one of her tarts.
“Mmm, so good,” Raven said, licking her fingers clean.
Ginger couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You know those are for paying customers, right?”
Raven sighed and then deflected the question. “How was your midterm? Mine was so… ugh. When we had to play out our fairytales, I think Grimm was hoping it would just all of a sudden make me evil. I’ll probably get a D.”
“You did better than me,” Ginger grimaced, “I didn’t even pretend to eat Gus. I just kept giving those two food.”
Raven softened as she leaned against the counter, staring at Ginger with a knowing look. “I wouldn’t be mad if you tried to cook me, if it means I’d get to feast on your sweets.”
Cheeks flushing, Ginger threw some flour at Raven. “You flatter me too much.”
“No, seriously,” Raven stuffed her face with another tart. “When you get your own bakery, I’ll be your number one customer.”
“As if you’d even pay,” Ginger teased.
Raven grinned, shrugging her shoulders. “Listen, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll help you make tarts.”
“Oh no,” Ginger turned, pointing at Raven, who was an absolute whirlwind in the kitchen, “You just sit there and look pretty.”
Raven threw her hands up in mock offence. “That’s… fair enough. If I inherited anything from my mother, it’s her lack of skills in the kitchen. But when you open your own bakery, I want a VIP section.”
When not if. That’s how sure Raven was in her. Ginger’s heart melted at the thought. One day, she would really open her own bakery. A place where she didn’t have to hide, a place where she could just bake and serve food to people who appreciated it. No scheming, no tricks—just the joy of creating. It seemed like a dream, but it felt so much more possible in that moment.
“Hmm, maybe you’ll even get your own dessert. I know you love caramel and thronecakes,” Ginger smiled at the thought.
“That sounds spelltacular.” And just like that, Ginger’s bitter day was sweetened.